This disclosure is related to semiconductor imaging devices and techniques, and more specifically, to semiconductor imaging arrays with integrated analog-to-digital converters.
A typical semiconductor imaging sensor includes a pixel array of photosensors and associated controlling and processing circuits. An optical image captured by the imaging sensor is first converted into analog electrical signals and then processed by the processing circuits in either analog mode or digital mode. In the digital mode, one or more analog-to-digital converters (“ADCs”) may be used to convert the analog signals into a digital representation of the image.
The digital readout of the imaging sensors may be delayed by the limited bandwidth and limited transfer speed of the readout bus. Such readout delay can be particularly prominent when the number of pixels is large.